By Abdul Kimera
Thousands of people in several cities across Australia
on Saturday protested over the Coronavirus restrictions imposed by the government to curb the increasing number of cases in the country.
Over 4,000 protestors violently clashed with Victoria police as they matched through the streets of Melbourne. More than 200 were arrested. Six officers were admitted to hospital.
Protests in Melbourne took place after Victoria’s premier Daniel Andrews announced a lockdown across the state when it recorded 77 new cases in just one day.
In a statement, the police said for the first time it used non-lethal tactics that included rounds of pepper spray projectiles and canisters.
People of all ages were seen walking through the streets unmasked, asking authorities to grant them freedom. Police condemned the marchers as selfish.
In Sydney the capital, Police said it made 47 arrests and issued at-least 261 penalty infringement notices across the city.
Crowds estimated in thousands also gathered in Brisbane city Botanic gardens to rally against the lockdown and vaccine measures.
Australia at the moment has 554 people with corona virus across hospitals including 94 in intensive care and 36 on ventilators. This is suspected to have sent its neighbors New Zeland to lockdown on Tuesday after six months of no registered internal cases.
According to the JohnsHopkins Covid-19 tracker, Australia has fully vaccinated 23.3% of its population but cases rise daily, due to the delta variant.
